This invention relates to a system for analyzing and improving the operational efficiency of major energy consuming systems at large facilities and particularly the consumption of electricity at commercial, governmental, or industrial facilities.
In order to understand the practical benefits of this invention, it is important to point out how large organizations often incur tens of thousands of dollars in additional energy costs, every year, from trivialxe2x80x94undetectedxe2x80x94operating errors, equipment problems, hard-to-detect billing errors.
When it comes to managing the energy and water operations at most large facilities, operating personnel are usually granted unconditional and unquestioned authority on how they run their facilitiesxe2x80x94as long as the facilities"" tenants are satisfied. This kind of operation not only results in highly inefficient operations, but in untold millions in additional costs, due to undetected and recurring operational errors and equipment problems. In fact, a 15-minute mistake by a building engineer at a large facility can easily cost $30,000 or more in additional energy charges that go unnoticed.
While it is rare to find an organization which would normally pay bills without understanding their content, that is exactly what organizations often do when paying their energy and water bills. They practically hand the utilities twelve blank checks to fill in every yearxe2x80x94and in the process millions of dollars are spent in overpayments and overcharges!
Most facilities management operations are limited in their ability to address the issues raised above because they lack an effective tool that can identify the nature of the problems and their effect on cost. Facility managers and operating engineers are rarely aware of how their operations can drastically impact their utility bills resulting in recurring operating errors and lengthy equipment malfunctions. For example, by not having the necessary resources to differentiate between a $10 energy spike and a $10,000 energy spike, few managers or engineers are inclined to commit the necessary time and resources to investigate what they might consider to be a negligible glitch.
A facility may have the most sophisticated operating equipment available and the most up-to-date and state-of-the-art control system, but such equipment and systems may not be enough. If the equipment is not operated properly, or if the sensors on the control systems fail, the facility is going to run inefficiently and money will be wasted. The bigger the facility, the bigger the waste.
A variety of services and systems have been proposed to assist facilities managers and owners achieve better control over their utility costs. For example, over twenty years ago a software implemented system, now provided under the name FASER 2000 by Omnicomp, Inc. a subsidiary of Enron, was introduced to assist facilities managers to track utility performance and to compare alternative prices. While useful for the purposes intended, this system was quite limited in its ability to help the user identify problems, particularly, difficult to identify problems and to analyze the costs associated with those problems and to identify appropriate solutions. Other software packages are known such as METRIX UTILITY ACCOUNTING SYSTEM provided by SRC Systems Inc, Berkeley, Calif.; UTILITY MANAGER supplied by Illinova Corporation, Decatur, Ill.; and ENERCY PROFILER supplied by Energy Interactive. In varying degrees these packages fail to provide robust, easy-to-use assistance to facilities managers in achieving the highest level of efficiency in the use of energy.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,623 to Barrett et al., a system and method is disclosed for monitoring and analyzing energy consuming equipment or loads. Data is collected, analyzed and used to create charts to provide a detailed analysis including reports containing summaries of the sensed data in the form of listings of compressed data as well as graphs such as histograms and graphs correlating different energy characteristics of the energy consuming system. While generally suggestive of important steps necessary to achieving improved efficiency in facilities management, Barrett et al. ""623 does not provide a system that will allow for relatively easy analysis of complex energy consumption data with techniques for identifying probable reasons for inefficient operations and with guidance on possible solutions to those inefficient operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,084 to Cmar is a far more sophisticated approach to managing energy consumption in a facility using complex computer aided analysis. In particular, Cmar ""084 discloses a process including the step of identifying patterns of electric energy consumption and demand in a facility and determining possible changes in the facility for energy conservation using monthly electric billing data over the years. The system uses daily weather reports to permit data to be collated and analyzed to create a model of the load shape according to what has happened in the facility. Through use of the system, reports are created that allow a facility operator to visualize end-uses of electricity and to select various energy conservation measures which can be predicted as usefully applicable to the building. By producing a report using the generated model of the load shape, the system allows management to make a decision based on predicted savings. The value of energy savings is calculated by normalizing the before retrofit billing data to current billing data and weather conditions and subtracting after retrofit billing data to identify the differential. While useful for its intended purposes, the system and method disclosed by Cmar ""084 involves a complex series of steps for xe2x80x9cdisaggregatingxe2x80x9d utility data followed by creation of a xe2x80x9cbest fitxe2x80x9d curve using regression analysis to create a xe2x80x9cloadxe2x80x9d curve model for the building. This approach is cumbersome and difficult to implement and is subject to errors in the creation of the model that might only be discovered after expensive retrofit of equipment or change in the facility""s use is undertaken to check the accuracy of the model as is contemplated by the Cmar ""084 teaching.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method which is capable of producing highly accurate information for use of facilities managers in achieving more efficient facilities operation and cost containment. In particular, there exists a need for a method and system that produces highly accurate, detailed information that does not rely on complex mathematical modeling and yet provides on going guidance to facilities managers that will assist such managers in achieving and maintaining highly efficient, low cost energy consumption by the facilities for which they are responsible.
The primary object of the subject invention is to provide a system and method for overcoming the deficiencies of the prior art and in particular to provide a system and method for producing highly accurate information for use by facilities managers in achieving more efficient facilities operation and energy cost containment.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a computer implemented method for visually analyzing current and historic patterns of energy consumption in a facility to which energy is supplied by one or more utilities which bill for the energy supplied over consecutive billing periods at rates which may vary during some billing periods to determine the presence of possible operating errors, equipment problems, or hard-to-detect billing errors.
Still another object of the subject invention is to provide a computer implemented method including processing the stored data, in a computer, to create single period graphs which illustrate and tabulate energy consumption for each billing period (e.g. monthly) and to create multi-period graphs (e.g. yearly) which illustrate and tabulate energy consumption during multiple extended periods formed of consecutive billing periods to allow visual comparison of energy consumption during one billing period with energy consumption during another billing period and to allow visual comparison of energy consumption during one extended period with the energy consumption during a second extended period.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to create documented patterns representing unusual circumstances which could represent inefficient operation of the facility, for which solutions are known based on analysis of energy consumption by several large facilities over long periods, to allow identification of the nature of similarly inefficient facility operation as shown in the graphs produced by the disclosed method and to allow identification of possible solutions. In particular, this object is achieved by the steps of replacing the stored data representing an unusual pattern of energy use or consumption by data representing a normalized pattern of energy use or consumption; reprocessing the stored data to calculate the effect on the cost under the normalized pattern of energy use or consumption; and creating a chart which records the differential in cost of the unusual pattern of energy use or consumption over the normalized pattern of energy use or consumption.
Still another object of the subject invention is to achieve one or more of the above objects and to provide a method for creating a projection of future costs per billing period based on the average consumption for selected prior billing periods, and calculating the projected costs for future billing periods using the current billing rates. This object is particularly useful when the billing period is monthly and consumption data is stored for at least the last two prior fiscal years, such that the step of creating a projection of the cost of energy consumption during a future monthly billing period may include the step of determining the projected energy consumption for a future monthly billing period by calculating the average consumption of energy during the same month of each of at least the last two fiscal years and using such average consumption and the current billing rates to determine the cost projection for the future monthly billing period. This method also permits the step of determining the cost projection for each monthly billing period by repeating the projected costs calculation for each future monthly billing period remaining in the current fiscal year and the step of determining a projected balance for each month.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to provide a computer implemented method to achieve one or more of the above objects including the step of forming charts including selected graphs juxtaposed in side-by-side relationship wherein the side-by-side graphs display data pertinent to the same month of the year. Such side-by-side graphs could include data relating to daily electric peak demand, daily electric energy consumption, daily time of the peak day demand, billing peak day and/or daily heating and cooling degree hour.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to provide a method for creating hypothetical data representing hypothetical conditions which could potentially effect the cost and amount of energy consumption as a replacement for some but not all of the stored data and for processing the hypothetical data and un-replaced stored data to calculate the effect of the hypothetical conditions on the cost and amount of energy consumption and to create a chart which illustrates and tabulates the results of such calculations.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a method for creating documented patterns representing unusual documented circumstances based on analysis of energy consumption over long periods by several large facilities to allow identification of the nature of similar unusual circumstances shown in the graphs produced by said graph generator whereby possible solutions to inefficient operations can be identified. For example the causes of (1) excess demand spikes and humps, (2) frequent and/or erratic demand spikes and humps, (3) daily peak demand set at odd hours, (4) relatively high morning or nighttime energy consumption, (5) relatively high weekend energy consumption, (6) incorrect cycling of equipment, (7) steady daily peak demand or energy consumption, (8) unusually high energy consumption on certain days, (9) chiller operations started early in April, (10) electric boiler operations started early in October may be detected via this important feature of the disclosed invention.
A further object of the subject invention is to achieve one or more of the above objectives and to provide the step of storing in computer memory weather data relating to the weather conditions prevailing immediately outside the facility during billing periods for which data is stored, and include the weather data in at least some of the created graphs.
Still another object of the subject invention is to achieve one or more of the above objects and in addition to provide a method including the step of storing in retrievable form within computer memory the result of the comparisons of single and multiple billing period graphs with results of calculations using hypothetical data after the close of a billing period and repeating this step after the close of each billing period to create accessible current and historical data, information and analysis about the energy consumption of the facility.
Still another object of the subject invention is to provide a computer implemented system to assist in achieving one or more of the above objects and particularly to assist in the analysis of current and historic patterns of energy consumption in a facility to which energy is supplied by one or more utilities to determine the presence of possible operating errors, equipment problems, or hard to detect billing errors and to assist in identifying the nature of inefficient operations whereby possible solutions to inefficient operations can be identified.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a computer generated and modifiable chart (this type of chart could take the form of a specialized spreadsheet) to enable the user to formulate various energy use and rate change scenarios and examine their effects on electric costs. The chart may be divided into four sections including an input section which represents the billing data from which costs are derived. This section initially shows the most recent actual billing data. When a computer is programed to implement the present invention, it will enable a user to alter the data included in an input section based on desired or projected changes in electric consumption or demand. The output section calculates the new electric costs based on the changes entered in the input section. The resulting differences in cost, as reflected in a change section to indicate corresponding savings or costs. A rate table below allows the user to modify individual rate components and examine the corresponding changes in cost with regard to the specified energy data. This chart illustrates a very important feature of the subject invention. In particular, the chart allows the analyst to ask hypothetical xe2x80x9cwhat ifxe2x80x9d questions to determine the effect on consumption and costs under a variety of different scenarios.
The above and other objects of this invention may be achieved by providing a general purpose digital computer including a digital processor which operates to execute the sequential commands of various programs stored in the computer""s program memory. A hard drive memory is normally provided to allow data to be stored in files and retrieved or modified as required to operate the program for its intended purpose. Data may be transferred into the computer from a keyboard, CD ROM, floppy drive or other type of input device. Data in the form of graphs, charts, numerical listings, text etc. that are stored within the computer memory and/or results from manipulation of the data can be displayed on a computer monitor or fed to a printer for creation of hard copy images.
The above and other important objects, advantages and features of this invention may be appreciated from a consideration of the following Brief Description of the Drawings and Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment.